NORTH HOLLYWOOD (CNS) - The pursuit of a stolen Metropolitan Transit Authority supervisor's SUV ended Wednesday evening a short distance from where the suspect stopped in a strip mall parking lot in North Hollywood and engaged in a nearly 30-minute standoff with Los Angeles police.
The white Ford Explorer was stolen near Metro's Norwalk Station around 10:30 p.m., according to Metro spokesman Brian Haas.
“The supervisor had stopped to assist a disabled bus” when the vehicle was stolen, Haas told City News Service. No MTA employees were injured.
The vehicle was traveling on the Hollywood (170) Freeway when the driver exited at Victory Boulevard and moved along city streets, at times with the SUV's lights off, then pulled into a strip mall parking lot at the intersection of Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Vanowen Street and stopped in front of a 7-Eleven just after 11 p.m.
Officers with weapons drawn took up positions behind the vehicle and ordered the driver to surrender, but the suspect did not exit the SUV. Video from the scene showed at least 10 LAPD vehicles in the parking lot and traffic on Vanowen Street was backed up and officers diverted vehicles away from the area.
Police moved in on the SUV about 11:30 p.m. and placed spike strips near the rear tires of the vehicle. Moments later the driver fled northbound on Coldwater Canyon Avenue at a high rate of speed before surrendering to officers a short distance away.
No injuries were immediately reported.